Dear Santa . . . . the follow-up

For those of you dying to know, Tate must have impressed Santa because he got most of the things on his list, including the long coveted "bumble bee head with the power". 

Coy didn't do so bad himself.  If you notice, the lighting in Coy's photo is much different.  This is because he slept through most of the entire early morning festivities. 

Of course, the night before he was also awake well past all the other kids and may or may not have witnessed Santa's arrival.

A Very Merry Christmas!

This year for Christmas, we travelled out to Northern California to visit Katie, Chris and the boys - and also the entire extended family (who drove out from Utah).  It was definitely a true Griswald family Christmas!  11 kids, 10 adults, 2 dogs, and 1 single family home (ok, and 2 hotel rooms).  The only thing that was missing was an RV parked out front and a yard full of gaudy Christmas lights and decorations.  We ate too much, and combined with the quantity of gifts under the tree, it was gluttony at its finest. 

But, it was definitely worth it and we made memories that will last a lifetime . . . which is what Christmas and family gatherings are all about anyway, right? 

We mostly just "hung out", but on one day we ventured over to a place called "Skyzone", which is basically a warehouse covered in trampolines, with a separate dodgeball court.  It was a blast.  After some gruelling games of dodgeball, where Josh was able to get retribution for all the torture I had placed on him as a child, the kids and adults were exhausted. Did you know that jumping on a trampoline as an adult is hell on your back, knees, and well, everything?

One of the highlights of the trip was an adults only night out in San Francisco.  We were staying in a suburb of Sacramento, so San Francisco is just a short 2 hour drive away.  We set the kids up at the house with plenty of pizza and movies, got dressed up in grown-up clothes and hopped in the car. We were treated to this view of the city as we were arriving.

Then, we ate dinner at this FANTASTIC restaurant in Ghiradeli Square at Fisherman's Wharf. Afterwards, we had tickets to see "Wicked". It was a perfect evening.

As we were leaving dinner, my brother Josh made a comment as to how nice it was to be able to sit and talk and have an evening without the kids.  My mom responded with how nice it was for her to sit and talk and have an evening WITH ALL her kids.  Funny how life is . . . .

Dear Santa . . . .

I am sure this will leave you no questions as to what he wants for Christmas, unless, of course, you are unfamiliar with this year's ever popular toy "bumblebee thing with the power that has the head"
(And yes, he can write his own name - I am so proud)

Christmas through the years . . . .

Each year at Christmas, I take a photo of the boys each wearing a Santa hat. Typically, I have used these photos for the Christmas card. This year I opted for something different on the Christmas card, but to keep the tradition alive, I still took the photos in the hats. Here is a montage of how the kids have changed . . .

TATE!

COY!

Is Christmas really only one week away?

Whew! The last few weeks have just flown by. . . . here are some quick updates on what we have had going on.

Grandma Tanya and Grandpa Val came out for a visit over Thanksgiving. We had lots of fun, though not many pictures to prove it -oops! We got to go see the ICE! exhibit, which featured scenes from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" carved out of ice. It is very cool, especially because this story is one that Tate LOVES. The photos are few and not great, but here's what I got (we took most of the photos with Grandma's camera and I forgot to download the photos before they left).

A week or so ago, we got bundled up and went to Christmas light parade.  It was mostly old classic cars spruced up with Christmas lights, but the kids had fun.  Plus, it was a small town parade, so they threw candy. 

We have been preparing for Christmas and the kids are getting really excited. Even Coy, who recognizes and calls out EVERY Santa we see with a "Tanta, Tanta".

Excited and Exhausted for Christmas

Let me preface this with some background information.  Tate is a great sleeper, always has been.  However, Tate will not sleep just anywhere.  There are two places he will sleep; the car and his bed.  He has fallen asleep in front of a movie exactly one time.  And believe me, there are plenty of times when he SHOULD HAVE fallen asleep.  So, you could say I was more than a little surprised when I went upstairs to investigate why it had gotten so quiet, and I found Coy playing quietly with books and Tate doing this . . .

I guess the excitement of circling all the things in the catalog that he wants Santa to bring for him was too exhausting.  For the record, this was not the first time he had been through the catalog.  It is almost a daily occurrance, lasting upwards of 2 hours.  He will just sit, going through the book page by page, randomly showing me things he wants.  We have been trying to prepare him for the grim fact that just because he circled it in the catalog, doesn't mean he is getting it.  Christmas day might be a tough one. . .

Merry Christmas to us!

Christmas was especially fun this year because it was the first year that Tate really "got it". And, boy, was he excited. We started out the season with a new tradition. Our family had a visitor, an elf named Zeke, who stayed with us from the beginning of December through Christmas eve. Zeke watched the kids (and the adults) to make sure we were behaving, and listening closely to find out what we wanted Santa to bring for us. Each night, Zeke would travel back to the North Pole to give Santa the update and when he returned he would find a new place to hide in the house. Tate loved to find Zeke's new spot in the house every morning. And, given the fact that he continues to ask "Where's Zeke?", I think it is safe to say he is excited for him to come back next year. When I was growing up, my friend Texie had an elf during the holiday season and I was always so jealous . . .

Tate must have impressed Zeke because he got the one thing he asked for from Santa -- a BIG race track. In the raw video footage, the time counter is over 10 minutes before we can distract Tate from the race track to show him that there were other presents for him. And to think, Santa could have saved some big bucks by just bringing only the race track.

After the gift unwrapping marathon, we had some friends come over. The kids played with the toys and the adults ate too much. All in all, a great Christmas. We hope yours was great, too!

Christmas came early!

Before starting this project, we had been thoroughly warned about the level of frustration involved with assembling one of these things. And, how the estimation of time they provide in the instructions is no where near reality (6 to 8 hours for one "handy" person). But, despite all of this we went for it.

The day started out a nice 68 degrees - warm even for Texas. And despite the fact that they got a late start because Brock's truck got towed (and Brock was supposed to pick up the parts - sorry Brock!), it seemed as though it might go together rather smoothly. Then, when they were 3 hours into it and only 8 pieces of lumber had been assembled and the pile of lumber left to assemble was mountainous. And, the 68 degress was making a swift a decline as the forewarned cold front showed up early, I thought we might be in trouble. But, call it dumb luck or maybe a Christmas miracle, but 6 short hours later, the fort was assembled and ready to be the culprit in countless bumps, bruises, broken bones and general mischief!

So, it turns out that it was a little frustrating - mostly, when I popped out to provide a little comic relief, which I soon learned was not appreciated by my husband.

And the time estimation is fairly accurate if you have a crew of 4 very handy men, one of whom has previous experience assembling a similar project. But, the look on Tate's face when he finally realized what was now in his very own back yard makes it worth it. Of course, that is easy for me to say as my only part in the whole scheme was collecting the money and paying for it - oh, and providing lunch.

Thanks to all who helped . . . Grandma Tanya, Grandpa Val, G-Ma Mellie, and G-Pa Scott for funding the project, and to Brock, Niel, Jay and "Daddy" for donating the time and labor. You made a very happy Christmas for one Tater. So happy, even the one of the coldest mornings of the year - only 21 degrees - couldn't keep him indoors.

If you are wondering why they look the same . . .

On Tate's first Christmas I bought a Santa hat and took his picture wearing it as a cute way of dressing up our Christmas card. At the time I purchased it, I didn't really think much past the Christmas card for 2006. Then, after taking the photos, it occurred to me that I should take his picture in the same hat every year and feature it on the Christmas card, as a way to capture how he has changed from year to year -- the hat to be the one constant. So, as I just finished this year's card, and it looks eerily familiar to previous years' cards, I felt like I needed to explain . . . and if anyone is interested to see how Tate has changed from year to year, here he is:

2006

2007
2008